Iraqi Quotations

We need to continue our full support of the nascent Iraqi government by helping to rebuild their economic infrastructure and maintain security while training the Iraqi security forces.

The first war plan has failed because of Iraqi resistance. Now they are trying to write another war plan. Clearly, the American war planners misjudged the determination of the Iraqi forces.

Resolution 1441 does not give anyone the right to an automatic use of force. Russia believes that the Iraqi problem should be regulated by the Security Council, which carries the main responsibility for ensuring international security.

We are ready to train new Iraqi forces outside Iraq. We did it in Abu Dhabi.

There have been linkages between the Iraqi government and al-Qaeda going back more or less a decade.

The purpose of the UN mechanism, this inspection mechanism, is not to engage in a cat and mouse game with Saddam Hussein and try to find weapons that the Iraqi government is working on concealing.

Nevertheless, I do know that we are part of a danger zone, we have military operations in Afghanistan and we're training the Iraqi police force. The terrorists also have us in their sights.

Our reports about civilian casualties here, about the resistance of the Iraqi forces, are going back to the United States. It helps those who oppose the war when you challenge the policy to develop their arguments.

President Bush says he is concerned about the Iraqi people, but if Iraqi people are dying in numbers, then American policy will be challenged very strongly.

In the span of three years, the Iraqi people participated in three elections, drafted a constitution, and elected a new government. While more work remains, this is remarkable progress.

When the government is handed over to the Iraqi Council on 30 June, many have declared, oh, the Americans must never leave because civil unrest may erupt. Well, I agree, we cannot abruptly depart, but Iraq needs to step up to the plate on 30 June.

They have involved co-operation between the Iraqi intelligence and al-Qaeda operatives on training and combined operations regarding bomb making and chemical and biological weapons.

I couldn't bloody believe a prime-time TV show would have an Iraqi ex-Republican Guard torturer as a main character.

Iraqi national identity under Saddam Hussein never truly incorporated Shiites or Kurds. Sunnis, who identified most closely with the Iraqi nation, remain in some ways disenfranchised relative to the other groups, or at least they perceive themselves that way.

The Iraqi regime was supporting terrorist cells all over the world. We had to expel three Iraqi diplomats from the Philippines because of evidence that they were either in touch with Abu Sayyaf or doing their own espionage.

That the Iraqi Government is considering a political deal granting amnesty to insurgents who have attacked or killed American service members is not just shocking - the idea of amnesty for insurgents is an outrage.

Desert Storm was seen by the military establishment and by some politicians as avenging Vietnam, but it left behind dangerous illusions. The victory was so decisive, and information about it so carefully managed, that the American public was never clearly informed that it was purchased at the price of approximately 100,000 Iraqi lives.

A war on Al-Qaeda could have been won with a decisive military strike in Tora Bora during December 2001, but American fighters at Tora Bora were refused requests for more forces when they trapped Al-Qaeda there; the Pentagon was busy husbanding resources for the Iraqi invasion.

I've never been embedded with American soldiers or British soldiers or Iraqi soldiers or any other.

January 30th will be a historic day for the Middle East and the world. The Iraqi people will take the next step toward a free and democratic society as they place their votes for a transitional Iraqi government.

The Iraqi people are living better lives now than three year ago, no longer living in fear.

We've persevered because of a belief we share with the Iraqi people - a belief that out of the ashes of war, a new beginning could be born in this cradle of civilization. Through this remarkable chapter in the history of the United States and Iraq, we have met our responsibility. Now, it's time to turn the page.

The key to making the inspections work is the Iraqi government making the crucial decision that because of the international pressure Iraq has to disarm itself.

I took a trip in 2004, a year after the war started in Iraq. I played music on the streets of Baghdad for Iraqi civilians. I'd also play for U.S. soldiers at night when they were off duty in the bars. Then I would talk to people, and I would film them and ask them about their life and the conflict.

What the UN inspectors can do is demonstrate to the world, help the Iraqi government demonstrate to the world that the Iraqis are cooperatively disarming if that is in fact what the Iraqi government decides to do.

As leader of the effort of the Iraqi Survey Group, I spent most of my days not out in the field leading inspections. It's typically what you do at that level. I was trying to motivate, direct, find strategies.

The contracts for Iraqi rebuilding are commercial contracts. I think being in the coalition of the willing puts us in the radar screen, but we also have to compete with other countries that are in the coalition of the willing, but the Philippines is a country that has produced world-class skilled workers that we have seen all over the world.

You've gotten words about those American and Iraqi deaths and mutilations, but precious few images.

The United States was seriously defeated in Iraq by Iraqi nationalism - mostly by nonviolent resistance. The United States could kill the insurgents, but they couldn't deal with half a million people demonstrating in the streets.

Of course, violence will not end with our combat mission. Extremists will continue to set off bombs, attack Iraqi civilians and try to spark sectarian strife. But ultimately, these terrorists will fail to achieve their goals.

We believe that more than half of the Iraqi population have someone who is missing in their family,

We appreciate the wide ranging efforts being made by Iraqi and US officials to secure Jill's release. We hope that today's encouraging statements about Jill's condition and prospects for safe return are proved correct.

We're doing better here. The Iraqi Army is playing a bigger role.

With no other security forces on hand, U.S. military was left to confront, almost alone, an Iraqi insurgency and a crime rate that grew worse throughout the year, waged in part by soldiers of the disbanded army and in part by criminals who were released from prison.

Ultimately, this will be a sovereign decision by the Iraqis, and it's up to the Iraqi National Assembly to decide on the appropriate electoral framework. That being said, it is our duty in our role in Iraq to point out when the process does not meet international standards.

would signal the Iraqi regime that they can continue their violations of the U.N. resolutions.

would be insufficient to address, even as a temporary measure, all the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people.

We want to prove to the Iraqi people and the world that we are in charge. We can manage our own security and can defend ourselves provided we are given the means and support to do that.

We have said for the last couple of weeks that we have seen the enemy starting to attack soft targets, Iraqi targets, rather than military targets, ... He is attempting to intimidate the people of Iraq. He will not succeed.

We are going to make sure the Iraqi people believe us at the end of the day,

The only way the inspectors can find anything is if the Iraqi government cooperates and shows it to them, ... Inspectors can't find things. They can only inspect what they've been shown.

The fact that Iraq is exporting nursing supplies (in exchange) for hard currency, in violation of sanctions, while babies and children are suffering from malnutrition is yet another indication of the Iraqi regime's cynical disregard for the welfare of its own citizens, ... and further proof that the responsibility of the suffering of the Iraqi children lies with Saddam Hussein -- and not sanctions.

The fact is we have an Iraqi government, supported by the United Nations, trying desperately to bring stability and hope and democracy to Iraq, ... Our job has got to be helping them.

The process is a purely Iraqi affair, which should take place on the (Iraqi) territory, and it is out of the question to transfer it anywhere else,

The process has been difficult, but the outcome is a clear demonstration of the will of all the members of the Security Council to place the interest of the Iraqi people above all other considerations.

The reality is that if the Shi'ites and Kurds can be inclusive and if they can reach a settlement with most of the Iraqi Sunnis, then the efforts of U.S. and coalition forces and the growing Iraqi forces are almost certain to be successful,

We have a policy to go after Iraqi funds whether they were abused by members of the former government or spent by international bodies.

We're gonna turn the Iraqi election into a big pageant, ... It'll be huge, as big as my hair.

The primary security for this referendum and the national election ... will be provided for by Iraqi security forces,

We need to move forward, and I think the faster we can have an Iraqi authority in charge of things, the better we can improve the situation,

There are only two logical places they could come across either the Iraqi or Syrian borders.

make sure the administration comes forth with specific goals and benchmarks and timetables as to what can be expected in the way of progress of allowing the Iraqi army to be able to provide their own security.

Leaders in the region remain engaged in the process of convincing President Saddam and the Iraqi leadership to disarm and cooperate with inspectors,

Many people in Iraq, that segment of Iraqi opinion, believes that there should be a determined effort to see whether in fact that elections are feasible,

Many times they (Americans) sent messages asking for help on security in Iraq. Iraqi leaders also asked the same. Unfortunately they did not have a good attitude in this regard. We believe that with the formation of new government, there is no need.

Second, the Bush administration must advise the Iraqi people that United States military forces will not stay indefinitely in Iraq and that it is their responsibility to achieve the broad-based and sustainable political environment essential for defeating the insurgency.

senior Iraqi officials have confirmed that you, in fact, received oil allocations and that the documents that identify you as an allocation recipient are valid.

Secretary Rumsfeld used to represent parts of our district in the 1960s. I think that he and his team have done a masterful job in defeating Iraqi forces quickly and decisively.

So looking ahead to the referendum, I think the signs are good that there will be broad participation, that the results will reflect the views and the will of the Iraqi people.

Soldiers with Kalashnikovs and pickup trucks is not an army, ... To make the Iraqi Army stand on its own without American or coalition forces, we need command and control equipment, transport vehicles and training.

On a daily basis, we are seeing not just attacks against coalition forces and security forces of Iraq, we are seeing a situation in many places which is beyond chaotic to the point which the Iraqi people are quickly beginning to assume that we not only are occupying but we are inept occupiers.

One of my biggest concerns is that people think I am a tool of the Iraqi government,

Should the Iraqi government not respond positively to the message carried by this team, the secretary-general would have no choice but to terminate his intervention, which was initiated with the sending of the team,

should be a period of significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty.

She came to meet me in person and she didn't find me. The kidnapping of this woman is an insult to me and to my work. I am making every effort to release Iraqi women detainees and this kidnapping will obstruct my efforts.

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, independent news reporting has been offered to Iraqi citizens. This has led to further harassment.

Since the beginning of Iraqi Freedom we've treated 4,355 patients.

Sir, our Iraqi partners have been conducting battalion and Brigade-size operations since April. They have been planning and coordinating with other Iraqi security forces, such as the Iraqi police and local government agencies, preparing for this referendum. Sir, we as coalition forces, we have taken a supporting role only as they prepare to execute this referendum.

Singling out the question of inspectors is wrong. There is the Iraqi issue, and in that issue, there are many items, there are many areas, and some of them are very, very important to the Iraqi people.

She is not your enemy. You already know my daughter is honest, sincere, and of good heart. Her respect for the Iraqi people is evident in her words that she has been reporting. Jill started to tell your story, so, please, let her finish it.

Mr. Chairman, the price for continuing this war is too high, not only in budgetary terms, but in American lives, Iraqi civilian casualties blamed on America and in the steady increase in the terrorist ranks that this war is provoking around the globe.

Meeting with tomorrow's leaders of Iraq was both an honor and an incredible experience, ... These are the guys that will be leading and making the decisions that will affect the future success of an Iraqi democracy.

meeting ... called by the U.S. to give their vision of the interim Iraqi authority. It will be a one-day meeting. And the U.S. will present its vision, and there will be a statement after the meeting.

Neither the Iraqi people, nor other Arab governments nor indeed Islamic fundamentalists have any reason to admire or trust Saddam Hussein.

One of the big challenges that's in front of the Iraqi people is seating a government that reflects and respects the views of all the Iraqi people, and doing it in a way in which all Iraqis can feel included in the political process.

Of course it will not be automatic procedure, ... It will be based on concrete and specific requirements by Iraqi authorities, of course. So that is why I feel that we should come to a solution which is acceptable to everybody.

No one expects that of Germany. But the Iraqi people deserve support, considering what they are up against and what they are going through,

only a small number of Iraqi security forces are taking on the insurgents and terrorists by themselves.

More than $200 million have been stolen out of the pockets of the Iraqi sovereign government through the loss of oil revenues resulting from attacks to pipelines. Attacks on our electrical infrastructure have caused a nationwide loss of power of more than four hours per day.

Obviously some of the efforts are being made to improve the conditions of the Iraqi people and make sure that the sanctions do not harm them. But if Iraq were to turn off the taps, then we'll be in a very serious situation,

no doubt whatever that the evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction will be there. Absolutely.

Nobody has ever claimed that this was going to be something that is easy. But, one only has to spend a few hours in Iraq to really understand the dedication and how committed the Iraqi people are to making this work, too.

NBC fired pinhead Peter Arnett. He gave an interview on Iraqi television criticizing the U.S. military and saying our battle plan was all wrong. The good news is, after he said that, today he was given an honorary Oscar.

One of the guys was giving soccer balls to the Iraqi kids and bam - a bomb blew up. All of the guys' families were there, and some of the mothers, you could see the sadness in their eyes. It just makes you appreciate what those guys are doing over there, it really makes you think.

If we can spend $2 billion every week to protect the Iraqi people, we can do more to protect our people at home.

I have been talking with Iraqi citizens, many of them do speak English, and they say they've got weeks, perhaps months of food stockpiled in their homes. So there is no crisis here, at least nothing on the proportion that some of the international aid agencies would have you believe,

I have good news for the Iraqi people on this historic day. An agreement has been reached on amendments to the draft constitution,

I'd like to offer my plea to the people of America, not the government of America, a plea for my release from captivity and also a plea for a release from captivity of all the people of Iraq who are also suffering the same fate. And that is the occupation of the American troops and the British troops which has brought me to this condition and has brought the Iraqi people to the condition they're in.

I couldn't have more respect for the rank-and-file soldiers, but the system is broken, ... When an Iraqi is detained there, he comes out angry and wanting payback.

ideas (he has presented) for some practical steps which can help boost morale on the domestic Iraqi scene.

I am furious that the Iraqi Government would even consider giving a green light to the criminal insurgents who attack our troops.

I believe, with the addition of those additional Iraqi forces, with the gelling of the Iraqi chain of command, with good leadership by Prime Minister Allawi and his ministers, that the elections will be able to be held,

I believe that we are about to face a new strategy of the neighboring countries, especially by the brothers who support Iraq and the Iraqi people.

I am very disappointed that the commission failed to take into account the amount of information that we provided them and the quality, experience and expertise of the Air National Guard personnel who have served our country in Ohio and in many combat operations. They have flown thousands of C-130 combat hours for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom and have received hundreds of Air Medals. They are truly American heroes, and the commission made the wrong decision.

But those who are pro-Saddam are very difficult to reach agreement with, because they are still dreaming to bring back the dictatorship, which is of course refused by the big majority of the Iraqi people.

But there are plenty of stops along the supply chain with weaknesses: the start of hurricane season, Iraqi production hanging on by a thread, recent problems in Ecuador, no sign of growth in Russian production and continued speculative interest in being 'long' in this market. The increases of the last month reflect that backdrop.

But the alarmingly slow pace of Iraq reconstruction, and the misuse of U.S. and Iraqi funds, have serious repercussions for our own national security.

Business of $15 billion to $20 billion in the next three-to-four years is not an unreasonable number to expect at all, depending on how aggressively the new Iraqi government wants to exploit its oil resources.

build the new Iraqi state on democracy and freedom.

But any allegation, no matter how suspect, will be investigated by the Iraqi and Coalition authorities.